From: Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Preparing your homestead
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:50:37 -0400
Robert Walton wrote:
> Lights. I use oil lamps if the lights go out. If the oil is gone, I
> guess I'd experiment in making candles from fat. Maybe just go to bed
> with the chickens.
A couple years ago I played around with beef tallow candles. I
triple-rendered it (boil it with water, let it harden, scrape the dirt
off, change water and reboil until clean). Tallow alone is soft and
burns quickly, but I mixed in a little bit of beeswax and it made
beautifully-long-burning, almost smoke-free candles.